candi's brined & smoked holiday turkey

How To Make candi's brined & smoked holiday turkey

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  1

  A couple day's ahead. Soak terra cotta garlic roaster in water for 10-15 minutes. Cut tops off garlic bulbs to bare them. Pour beef broth over them, place your italian seasoning on the tops of them then the pad of butter. cover them in the garlic roaster and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes until soft. The same process for the onions as well. I have 2 terra cotta garlic roasters so I do them at the same time! Once your garlic and onions have cooled, peel the garlic, add all of the garlic pieces to the food processor with the olive oil and puree, run the onions through the food process or as well to dice, add the butter, garlic and onions to a mixing bowl and whip till very well blended. Put in air tight container and refridgerate.
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  2

  Add thawed or partial thawed turkey (including neck and giblets) to cooler, heat water, kosher salt and montreal seasoning to boil, turn off and let completely cool. Slice and dice your garlic and onions, add all brine ingredients to cooler add additional water to cover turkey, add ice and set aside until ready to smoke, 24 to 32 hours.
• 3

  Heat vegetable broth and a couple tablespoons of your butter compound just until butter is melted. let cool. prepare your chicken broth and tony chacheries seasoning for your injection.
• 4

  The morning of your smoke, take turkey out of brine, remove giblets and neck, rinse turkey, neck and giblets with warm water, put neck and giblets back inside turkey. Inject turkey breast, leg, thighs, everywhere you can inject!!, rub butter compound on outside of turkey. Let stand until room temp.
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  5

  Place disposable aluminum turkey pan on bottom of smoker directly under where your turkey will sit. Surround pan with charcoal, I use high heat charcoal by kingsford for this recipe. I also use maple chips, you can use apple or whatever other wood your little heart desires!
• 6

  Place your turkey directly above pan once coals are heated to 350-400. put wood chips on coals and close smoker (I use a toothpick to keep wings at its side and kitchen twine to tie leg ends closed). Make sure to inject once an hour to once every 30 minutes for AMAZING flavor!
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  7

  As soon as turkey skin turns brown, cover with aluminum foil. every 30 minutes mop/brush/baste turkey with basting mix. every 30-45 minutes make a ball about the size of a baseball out of your compound butter, set it ontop the turkey and cover back up with aluminum foil.
• 8

  Remove turkey from smoker when breast temp reaches 155 degrees, set *Breast Down*(this way juices run "into" the breast meat) in warmed oven to rest for up to an hour before serving. You may use drippings from pan for gravy, however this will have a seriously heavy smoke flavor and you'll want to dilute it! You'll have to refresh your coals (and wood chips) 3-4 times durring smoking if your using charcoals. I keep a bowl with the basting liquid in the smoker next to the turkey the whole time, this add's humidity and ease when it is time to baste & inject!
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  9

  Remove & Boil your neck and giblets for about 30 minutes, cool, dice and use in stuffing and or gravies!
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